Elijah Parish Lovejoy was born on November 9, 1802 in Albion, Maine to a preacher father and a very devout Christian mother. Because of this upbringing he was instilled with the teachings of the Bible and related scriptures at an early age. Encouraged by his father to become a man of learning, he graduated at the top of his class at Waterville College in Waterville, Maine. He sought to spread the teachings of God in the unsettled west, and so he raised funds for a trip to Illinois, arriving in 1827. After being dissatisfied with the amount of people there, he moved back to the east to become a minister, studying at Princeton Theological Seminary. After achieving this goal, he moved to St. Louis, Missouri, becoming the editor for the St. Louis Observer, a newspaper. Through the newspaper he heavily advocated abolition in a largely pro-slavery area. His printing press was destroyed by Missourians angered at his opinions on slavery, and because of this he decided to move to Alton, Illinois. However, pro-slavery groups were also present here, and Lovejoy's opinions were again unwelcome. After destroying three of his printing presses, a mob of non-abolitionists killed Lovejoy on November 7, 1837 in an attempt to destroy a fourth that he had recieved from an anti-slavery group; he was hailed as a martyr for abolition.
References
Frederick Douglass
Douglass was also a fervent abolitionist, much like Lovejoy. Although he was only renowned after Lovejoy's death in 1837, Douglass still felt strongly in his beliefs. He also sought to combat slavery through the legal system, whilst Lovejoy fought it in the press.
William Lloyd Garrison
Garrison was near-extremist in his views toward slavery, but would nonetheless support Lovejoy's cause. Lovejoy certainly felt strongly about abolition, but nowhere near as much as Garrison did. Both men would be able to complement each other through their beliefs.
Elijah Lovejoy
References
Frederick Douglass
Douglass was also a fervent abolitionist, much like Lovejoy. Although he was only renowned after Lovejoy's death in 1837, Douglass still felt strongly in his beliefs. He also sought to combat slavery through the legal system, whilst Lovejoy fought it in the press.
William Lloyd Garrison
Garrison was near-extremist in his views toward slavery, but would nonetheless support Lovejoy's cause. Lovejoy certainly felt strongly about abolition, but nowhere near as much as Garrison did. Both men would be able to complement each other through their beliefs.
Sources
"Elijah Parish Lovejoy." Colby College. 01 Mar. 2009 <http://www.colby.edu/education/activism/stories/lovejoy.html>.
"Elijah Parish Lovejoy." Wikipedia. 1 Mar. 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elijah_P._Lovejoy>.